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We love diving, whether it's technical diving to explore deep wrecks or just sport diving to search for seahorses or nudibrancs, we can't get enough. We also like to try different equipment and enjoy sharing what we have experienced and learned. We hope you find our blogs interested and that they help you make the most of your equipment and diving. If you like our blog posts, please feel free to 'like' them and share them with your friends.

(Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia)

Momokawa Maru

Truk Lagoon claims the world’s greatest wreck diving and with over 60 ships plus aircraft, in a protected lagoon, the claim is justified. On this trip we were invited to join Max Gleeson (maxgleeson.com) and Lesley Hillyer (AquaSea) as they continued to work on Max’s second documentary on the wrecks of Truk Lagoon (more below). Martin, with his huge ‘underwater selfie stick’, also joined our group.

Buddha, on the Oite

We have been to Chuuk before, using different twin tank systems and although a simple back plate and harness was the better option, it still felt cumbersome in narrow doorways and corridors. This time we went side mount, I had my Stealth 2.0 Classic while Karen used a Stealth Rec wing fitted to her Classic harness.

In switching from cold water to warm, with different suits, tanks and side mount rigging, it took a couple of dives to get weight, trim and ‘boat procedures’ down pat. Operating out of the Blue Lagoon Dive Shop – our boat driver, Rhys, went from intrigued observer to expert assistant, helping to don tanks after just a few dives.

Roller, near the San Francisco Maru

Max’s second video will feature lesser known and deeper wrecks of Truk Lagoon. This worked well with our objectives to revisit the Oite and because I needed a better photo of a road roller lying on the sand with the silouette of the San Francisco Maru in the background. I'd taken a photo on the last trip, not thinking about the ship in the background (hence, I didn't get it right).

Cutting a long story short, these are the ships, our dive depths and some of our notes for those whom might contemplate similar (and there’s much more to see).

Wreck

Our depth

What to see

Yubae Maru

30m

tableware and saki bottles, props sticking up

Patrol Boat

27m

limited damage, interesting valves and gauges

Nagano Maru

58m

trucks and road roller in the hold

Kiyosumi Maru

27m

torpedo holes at bow, a bicycle, coral decorated masts

Fujisan Maru

58m

a large tanker with fuelling pipes, signal light on sand

Oite

62m

one of only two destroyers in the lagoon

Momokawa Maru

36m

bridge telegraph and phono tubes

Shotan Maru

49m

vehicles in the hold, bullets, shells, pots and pans

Unnamed lighter

27m

(see below)

Amagisan Maru

38m

large forward gun, great exploring

San Fransisco Maru

62m

tanks, vehicles, road roller, engine room and lots more

Seiko Maru

41m

large decorated masts, bathrooms and mess, telegraph

Taiho Maru

44m

(see below)

Kensho Maru

27m

large engine room in excellent condition

Aikoku Maru

40m

manoeuvring helm and telegraph at stern, galley

Soporo Maru

26m

had to happen – 3m visibility, but clear inside

Highlights for the trip were the Oite, San Francisco Maru and two wrecks that had not been visited by divers for many years.

Tank on San Francisco Maru

The Oite is (was) a destroyer and the speed boat in the lagoon, with a slender hull and with two large props, after the engines, fuel and munitions there must have been little space for the crew (respectfully, some are still there). With a limited run time it was exploring on a schedule (luckily, we did two dives on her), but we located a gun in the wreckage of the upturned bow that we hadn’t seen before. The stern section, upright, has a large gun and anti-aircraft guns that make for great photos. The San Francisco Maru was great, as always, and I got the photo of the roller.

The first of the two ‘new’ wrecks, was the Taiho Maru. Blown in two but Max and MacKensey (our guide) found her rear half. Rumour says it lost popularity as a dive site many years ago because the leaking aviation fuel burned divers’ exposed skin – fair enough! The water is clear now and this wreck, lying on its port side, has one of the most photogenic props in the lagoon.

Taiho Maru

The second ‘rediscovery’ was an unnamed lighter, a maintenance vessel and water pump. It also has a pretty prop, partly buried, with a huge coral fan nearby. The pump control room near the bow was fascinating, full of gauges, valves, and pipes going in every direction. We found navigation lanterns and much of the compass, including brass gimbals and the large glass dome.

Side mount proved a great choice for exploring. With much of the wooden decks rotted away it was easier to slip between the steel framework than it had been before with twins, or to roll 90 degrees and just swim through narrow doorways. Sometimes it was the camera arms that were more difficult to get through windows, when you don’t really want to touch the wreck – to preserve both it and yourself. Both Stealth rigs are very streamlined, meaning minimal exertion and less air consumption at depth – I’ll use it again next time.

Unnamed Lighter

Back to Max’s videos. The first video (volume 1), includes some history on Operation Hailstone (why the wrecks are there) and features 15 of the more famous and popular ship wrecks in the lagoon, plus a chapter on aircraft. It is a great video and it might also be the best ‘dive trip planning tool’ that you’ll ever see. Max and Lesley have done an amazing job organising, filming and putting the video together. I’m looking forward to volume 2, and Max has already offered a teaser on Vimeo.